


Introductions

by Captain_Kraken



Series: N.S.S. Files [1]
Category: Splatoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23334265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kraken/pseuds/Captain_Kraken
Summary: Here begins the tales of Agents 3, 4, and 8 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, starting with just before the events of what is now known as the "Octo Expansion."
Series: N.S.S. Files [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678078
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Agent 8 of Octo Valley

**Author's Note:**

> If you see any errors or have suggestions, feel free to tell me.

**Octo Valley**

“All units, report to the final boss kettle. Octavio himself has invited all of you to witness the defeat of Agent 3 by his tentacles.” The voice of Marina Ida, the elite Octoling in charge of the wasabi supply for Octavio himself, echoed in the underground bunker we called home.

“Sushi, report to the planning room. I repeat, Sushi to the planning room.”

“Oh, you're in for it now. What did you do?” This was uttered by one of my roommates.

“Shut up Oscar, I'll be fine.” I said, hiding that I was extremely scared; troops that have displeased Octavio have been known to disappear. Nevertheless, I marched onward, passing many low level Octarians and empty quarters. I eventually reached the planning room and knocked on the door.

Marina opened it and scanned me. “Sushi, come in and sit down.” I did as I was told, trying to amend for any mistakes I may have made.

“Octavio left to go fine tune his Octobot King, so I was left in charge of the base until he returns.” She looked at me, and I squirmed under her gaze. She removed her glasses and spun them in her hand, then she made eye contact with me. “Before he left, he gave me a special gift. Do you know what it is?”

I went through what I knew about awards for exceptional service. She didn't appear to have any new medals, so that wasn't it. If it were a special weapon, I would've seen it when I walked in. The only thing I could think of is greater authority.

“N-no, I don't,” I stuttered. Marina snickered a bit, then looked at me with a warmer look in her eyes.

“You think I called you in here because you're in trouble, don't you?” I nodded, and she laughed a bit. “The truth is, it's quite the opposite. Octavio gave me the ability to choose an apprentice, and I've looked through everyone's files, and you showed the most prowess in all fields. I called you in here to ask you if you'd like to be my apprentice.”

I was dumbstruck, speechless. My jaw dropped open and I rapidly nodded my head. Marina’s face lit up with a smile.

“Great! I've got an empty bunk in my room, so go get your stuff and move in!” I ran to my quarters, where I was greeted by Oscar as I was throwing my stuff into a bag.

“You got kicked out, huh? Tough.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Well, good luck in the city.”

I closed up the bag, slung it over my back, and walked towards the door. I turned before I left. “Actually, I'm going to be Marina's apprentice. See you eventually,” and as I left I finished my sentence. “As your boss.” The last thing I heard from him was a noise of confusion and shock.

I hurried to where Marina’s quarters were, and threw my stuff on my bunk. I looked around the room, took a breath in, and turned around to go find my new roommate.

“Excited, aren't you?” Marina was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Of course I'm excited! I'm going to be the apprentice of _the_ Marina Ida!”

“Now, hold your seahorses, we have a concert to watch first.” She turned and motioned for me to follow her. “When we get there, stay by me; I'll make sure they don't turn you away.

As we approached the gate, I was stopped by the bouncer, but Marina put her hand on my shoulder, the bouncer apologized, and let both of us go through. We took our seats in the front of the elite section, and settled in to watch the fight. In view for all of us to see were the Great Zapfish, Octavio and his Octobot King, and Captain Cuttlefish, who Octavio had captured earlier.

After about 15 minutes, the infamous Agent 3 showed up. When she did, everyone watching moved to the edge of their seats, then she spoke, and somehow we could hear her.

“Are you the one I'm looking for, the one who captured the Captain?”

“Indeed. I. Am. Octavio. ” As he said that, he began playing music, and the battle began. It was quite the spectacle with ink flying everywhere; some of it yellow-green, some magenta. Numerous Octotroopers and other bottom ranking troops were splatted. Everything was according to plan, until….

“Wait a minute, time out.”

“Octavio, this is basically a war, there's no ‘time out.’” Agent 3 said this, but didn't attack; she seemed as confused as everyone else.

“I know that, but my music stopped, this never happens. Hold on a moment, I gotta figure this out, I won't attack until I do.”

After that, the noise of someone scanning through radio stations played, and a pink squid and a green squid super jumped onto the platform where Cuttlefish was, then the music played, but it wasn't Octavio's.

It was their music.

“It can't be….” For the first time, Octavio seemed worried.

“That heavenly melody….” Cuttlefish seemed to recognize the music, and broke free of his restraints.

“Sorry about the wait, Agent 3 and Gramps,” the green Inkling said.

“Yeah, we got here as fast as we could.” This time the pink Inkling spoke.

“I'm just glad to see you all, having come to save me,” Cuttlefish remarked.

“Wait, Agents 1 and 2, are you--”

“The Squid Sisters!” Octavio looked furious. “That's it, all bets are off, come on Agent 3, let's finish this!”

“With pleasure.” Agent 3 raised her weapon, poised to attack. Meanwhile, the new song had an effect on me and Marina. I looked to my right towards her, and she removed both her glasses and the kelp in her tentacles. It was like we were both broken out of a trance.

“This changes everything….” She shifted her gaze from Octavio to Agent 3, and began cheering, and I did the same. It was only a matter of time before the Inkling who had single handedly charged all the way to the heart of our society had defeated our leader and reclaimed the Great Zapfish. Both Octavio and his Octobot King had disappeared, I assume having returned to his quarters. All of us in the audience departed back to our quarters. Marina and I discussed our newfound revelations.

“We just saw a glimpse of the Inkling world, and it's beautiful!” Marina sounded ecstatic, and I shared the joy.

“Look around, we're surrounded by mindless drones, blindly following orders. For ink’s sake, we _were_ one of them! Marina, we need to escape, how do we get out of here?”

“Normally we would use the kettles, but since the Zapfish have been taken, they've been down. However, there's an access tunnel that not many know about, we can use that!”

“Great! Lead the way.” After I said that, Marina grabbed my wrist and ran through the system of tunnels. We reached the panel to it and removed it, and I let Marina go first.

As I was about to climb up, the sirens went off.

“Oh no; Sushi, c’mon, you can make it up before the troops get here.” Marina was clearly concerned, but I could hear the marching from down the hall.

“I wouldn't be able to get up there and close the hatch. You go up, I'll close it off and meet you later. Go to Mt. Nantai, I'll meet you there.” Marina tried to tell me to just go, but she was cut off by me closing the access hatch.

Right after I closed it, the elite Octoling leading this group walked around the corner and filled me in on what was happening. “Agent 3 is back. We don't know what she wants, but she seems intent on taking us down. We need to stop her.”

As much as I didn't want to fight, I knew I had to so I could remain inconspicuous. I allowed ink to flow and create my ink tank and weapon, and filed into the line.

We didn't stand a chance. Within only a few minutes, I was the only one still standing. Agent 3 was on a platform, looking down at me. I looked back at her, with my weapon in my hand, hanging by my side.

“Agent 3, I don't want to fight you.” I tried to reason with the Inkling. “I realized what Octavio has been doing to us down here, and I want out. I--” Agent 3 began to look intrigued and aggravated. “I want to live in your world. I want to live in Inkopolis.”

Agent 3’s face contorted with disgust. She jumped down, and the fight began, the fight that had me end up in the Deep Sea Metro.

“Cuttlefish showed me all of the files of you Octolings, and how you all fight. You don't stand a chance against me Sushi, or should I call you--”

  
  


**Inkopolis**

I remember.

“Agent 8, hello? Hello?” Agent 4 snapped his fingers in front of my face, and brought me back to Earth.

“Oh, good you're back.” Agent 4 had a large grin on his face. “I was figuring that, since we're colleagues, we should know each other's names, so we can call each other those instead of our Agent numbers. That being said, what's your name?”

“My name,” I said, smiling towards him, “is Korral.”


	2. Tidal Rush: Ebb and Flow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year after rescuing Callie and the Great Zapfish, the Squid Sisters have gotten rather bored. Agent 4 has an idea on how to get their celebrity momentum back.

It's a sunny day here in Inkopolis, but that's how every day is. Today I'm relaxing, since I finally defeated Octavio, rescuing both the Great Zapfish and Callie… for the second time. After I rescued her the first time, she put the Hypnoshades back on, and Octavio managed to steal  _ and _ return to his boss kettle with the Great Zapfish within about 30 seconds. After I rescued her again, Marie and I put the Hypnoshades under lock and key, and then threw away the key. Now the three of us are hanging out at the back of the Square, by Crusty Sean’s food truck. Callie is in her casual attire, Marie in her kimono, and I in my Hero gear.

“Mmf mph hmm hmph.”

“Callie, don't speak with your mouth full.” Marie was clearly displeased by Callie's lack of manners, but I didn't care; I was amused.

Callie gulped down her squid rings. “I said, ‘I wish there were still fans running to meet us.’ Sure, we didn't do much for two years, and the solo fame started to break me, but the fame only made me happy,” Callie blushed a bit. “When we were still working together.”

“Callie….” Marie blushed.

“Aw, you guys are great.” My compliment made them both blush a bit more. “You know Callie, when I saw Marie standing on the grate over there, I went to talk to her, and that's when she ducked into Octo Canyon. I followed her, she told me about why she was there, and then I was recruited. My mission was to not only rescue the Great Zapfish, but you as well.” Callie looked a bit surprised, and Marie’s smile disappeared. “After I saw how sad Marie was without you, I couldn't refuse. And seeing how happy both of you are now, I know I made the right choice.”

“Thank you Agent 4.” Marie still looked forlorn. “I just wish Gramps was here….”

“So do I,” Callie put her arm around Marie. “But for now, let's just enjoy that the Squid Sisters have reunited.” Callie’s eyes opened wide. “Oh, Agent 4, could you give me a tour of Inkopolis Square? I've been gone for so long, I don't know what's what.”

“Sure thing.” I got up and motioned for both of them to follow. “You've already seen Crusty Sean’s, those are Ye Olde Clothes Shop, Shella Fresh, and Headspace, followed by Ammo Knights. Past the grate over there is Grizzco; if you work a shift there, be careful, the Salmonids are highly dangerous. That's Judd and Little Judd’s pillow, that's Murch, and that's the Shoal. Of course, the center of the Plaza is the Lobby.”

“What's back there, past Murch?”

I shrugged. “Honestly Callie, I have no idea. I think it might be some sort of subway, but where it goes, nobody knows.”

A familiar jingle played, and pointed to the screen on Deca Tower. “Just in time, here's the final thing on the tour.” We watched the broadcast, and Callie seemed a bit confused.

“So, that's the ‘Off the Hook’ I've been hearing about? I didn't think that would be them.”

“That Marina,” Marie sounded scared, oddly. “Is she an—”

“Octoling.” I said, finishing her question and answering it as well. Marie's face drained of color. “I know what you might be thinking, but don't worry; she focuses on music.” I got out the Sunken Scroll collection and flipped through it. “In fact, I believe… yep, it's right here.” I pointed to the picture showing Marina’s origin. “She was there when Agent 3 fought Octavio.”

Callie suddenly got excited. “Marie, our song…. Let's go meet them!”

“Ugh, fine. Agent 4, where's their studio?”

I pointed to a large crowd of people. “Behind that crowd. Come on, we're going to have to push our way through. Stay close.” We managed to get against the glass (much to the protesting of the people we pushed through), though it was at the end away from the duo.

“Great! We made it to the front, but how do we get their attention?”

“Good question Callie. Agent 4, any ideas?” Marie seemed smug, like she doesn't want me to pull this off.

“I'm thinking.” We can't wave, we're too close together and the amount of motion would make us invisible. Most noise, unless extremely loud, would be drowned out. I looked at the glass, and had an idea.

“We knock on the glass.”

Callie was the one to doubt me this time. “Agent 4, it would just blend in with all the other noise, right?”

“Normally, yes. However, all three of us will be synchronized, and we'll be knocking something Marina should be able to pick out. Follow my lead.”

I began knocking the tune of the Inkantation. The two cousins realized what I was doing, and joined in. The crowd around us backed up a bit. It wasn't very long before we were in full swing, so I started watching Marina. She was waving to the fans as usual, then she just stopped, then she started walking in front of the glass, scanning the crowd.

“I think we got her attention. Keep going!” Callie and Marie continued like I requested, and Marina kept walking towards us. Eventually, she reached us.

“Hey guys, guess who's here?” Both of them looked up when I said that, and we all waved. Marina appeared to have been putting together who we are, and it seemed she could use a little help.

“Do the pose.”

“Huh?” Callie was perplexed.

“Agent 4 what are you talking about?” Marie just sounded annoyed.

“Your pose. The one you did at the end of every broadcast you did. ‘Stay fresh,’ remember?” Once I reminded them, they looked directly at Marina, and posed. Marina gasped, and pointed us in the direction of the entrance, which was to the side. As we walked through the door, both Marina and Pearl were standing there.

“Oh my gods, I can't believe  _ the _ Squid Sisters are standing right in front of me. I've been a huge fan since that concert two years ago! You changed my life, you know.”

“So we've heard, Marina.” Marie calmly said those few words, and Marina would have fainted and fallen on the floor if Pearl hadn't caught her.

“She's been dreaming about this for ages. C’mon Marina, wake up.” Pearl was lightly slapping Marina’s face, and the Octoling eventually woke up.

“I'm sorry about that.” Marina looked embarrassed, but Callie just laughed.

“That was nothing! You should've seen everyone who fainted when we so much as waved at them when we were on Inkopolis news.”

Marie chuckled. “Yeah, that was pretty funny.”

Pearl made eye contact with me, then interjected the conversation. “Yo, if you two are the Squid Sisters, who's that?”

“That's, um….” Callie started to speak, then stopped.

“He….” Marie did the same thing.

“I work with them. Behind the scenes sort of stuff. The people like me aren't talked about very much.” It wasn't a lie, more of an incomplete truth.

“Oh, all right then.” Pearl seemed content with that answer.

“So what are you three doing here?”

“We wanted to meet you two.” Callie went up and put her arms around each of them.

“We had heard of a new group, one that filled in the gap we left after we split up, so we were intrigued.” Marie stood over by them. I pulled out my phone.

“Alright, smile!” I snapped a picture of the scene. “I had an idea for something that I think the citizens of Inkopolis will enjoy. Would you four like to hear it? After all, it will be a collab between the four of you.”

“Really?” Marina had little stars in her eyes from this.

“I'm in.” Pearl sounded enigmatic, but not displeased.

“Um, Four?” Callie’s face clearly conveyed she was a bit worried. Marie had her version of that look, too.

“You didn't talk to us about this before.” Marie was talking through gritted teeth; not a good sign.

“Well, that's because I didn't have this idea before.” I started to walk into the studio. “Come, sit down and let's talk about this concert.” Once all five of us sat down, I began.

“This concert will be a joint effort from all of you. Pearl and Marina, you'll go first with the song of your choice. After that, you'll introduce Callie and Marie, who will sing their latest song: ‘Fresh Start,’ and then end it with ‘Calamari Inkantation.’ The purpose of this concert is essentially to announce that the Squid Sisters are back. Any questions?” I looked around, and only Marina had one.

“Who's opening the concert? There's usually another person or band that plays a song before the main event. So, who is it?”

“I have an idea, but I'll have to talk to Callie and Marie first. Guys?” I lead them into the hallway.

“So, Four, who's the opener?” Marie smugly asked me this, hoping that I had finally been stumped.

“It's…” I took a deep breath and braced myself for what was coming next. “Octavio.”

The next five minutes were filled with a lot of yelling.

“At least hear me out before you kill me.” That managed to get them to calm down. “Do you not remember the music he made? Did you forget how great it sounded? He's the perfect opener, and maybe by having him perform we can get him to change his ways.” They stopped and considered this.

“Fine.” Both of them gave in simultaneously.

“Great, now for part two of this. We need to explain everything to them.”

“What're you talking about Four?”

“I'm talking about the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Marie. We need to make them Agents.” My initiative here surprised them.

“Are you sure? There's no going back after this.” Callie, as the leader until the Captain returns on account of her being Agent 1, has to make the final decision.

“I'm sure. By doing this, everything will make more sense to them than if we just took them to Octavio.”

“Marie?” The squid in question nodded, and we went back into the room.

“Pearl and Marina?” I got their attention. “Callie has something to tell you.”

“What is it?” This was the first time I've seen Pearl legitimately confused.

Callie brought the duo up, and shook each of their hands. “Welcome to the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Agents 6 and 7. I'm Agent 1, Marie is Agent 2, Agent 3 is out on a mission with Captain Cuttlefish, our friend here is Agent 4, and Agent 5 is Sheldon. Yes, it's the same Sheldon running Ammo Knights.”

“Huh?” Pearl was utterly confused, while Marina seemed to be piecing things together.

“Follow them, they'll explain everything. I'll go first and make sure the crowd doesn't trample you.”

That was easier said than done; I almost had to fight the entire crowd, but luckily Marina simply told them to go on their way. 

“Marina… next time… offer to do that.” She gave a small laugh.

  
  
  


“Welcome to Octo Canyon.” I introduced Pearl and Marina to the area. “I see your preferred weapons have spawned.” Callie and Marie have their respective Roller and Charger, Marina has a Splatling (that makes sense, since she loves large machinery), and Pearl got a Blaster (like her, you should  _ never _ underestimate a Blaster).

“So, what are we doing in here?”

“Pearl, this is where the person who's opening the concert is. In fact, he's behind us. Marina, I believe you've met him before.” I walked over towards the snowglobe, and Pearl and Marina followed.

“What are you tal—” Marina cut herself off when she saw the contents of the snowglobe.

“Hey Octavio.” When I addressed the Octarian, he glared at me.

“What do you want?”

“Angry as ever; I just want to talk with you. In fact, we all do. Agents 6 and 7, come over here and sit down.”

“You got two more, huh? Familiarizing me with them?” Octavio crossed his tentacles in defiance.

“More or less. We're actually here to organize something. I'd like you to at least look at the two.”

“No. While I may be imprisoned by you, I don't have to do what you say.”

I thought of a way to get him to cooperate. “Welp, I tried. C’mon Pearl and  _ Marina _ , there's no reason for us to stay here.” I started to walk away, and that's when he looked at the two in question.

“Ida?” Marina turned and scowled at Octavio. “Have you been in Inkopolis all this time?”

“I have. Now, are you going to listen to Agent 4's offer or not?” Marina said all this with a montone voice and a deadpan face.

Octavio shuffled a bit in his snowglobe. “Sure. Agent 4, I'll listen.”

I turned back around and walked to him. “Great. I'll get straight to the point. We're organizing a reunion concert for the Squid Sisters, starring them and Off the Hook here. We want you to open it. You can play whatever song you want, just open it. I also want to use your Octobot King II as the stage.”

Marie interrupted me here. “Um, don't you think that would be a bit dangerous Agent 4?”

“Yeah, that's what he's used every time he's fought you or Agent 3.” Callie mumbled this, I assume remembering what she did while hypnotized.

Just then, a certain crabman popped out of the grate. “Ah, right on cue. I know Octavio has fought us in that, so that's why I'll be having Agent 5 there supervise the modifications to it. Sheldon, say hello to our newest recruits.”

“Hello there! Wait, Pearl and Marina, you two are members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon too? What a coincidence! While I don't fight on the front lines, I am the tech guy; I manage all things technology, and supply the weapons. I—”

“Okay Sheldon, we don't want to be here all day.” Sheldon apologized, and stayed quiet. I returned my attention to Octavio. “So, what do you say?”

Octavio pondered it, then gave his response. “Sure, I could perform.”

“Great! We'll need to schedule the show; I'll leave that to you four. Sheldon I want you to televise it on every channel, so when you get a chance set up a bunch of cameras in the Square. And of course, Octavio will be modifying the stage.” I let Octavio out of his snowglobe. “You guys start preparing, I have to talk to Sheldon. Oh, and Octavio?” I turned to face the octopus, and we made eye contact. “You should probably speak to the four to get their songs; after all, you are the DJ. Oh, and don't even  _ think _ about trying anything, kapeesh?”

“Got it.”

“Great.” I turned back to Sheldon. “Sheldon, is there a way you can control the Square’s field, like how the different maps can change between map and not?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I'll be waiting out of sight, but nearby should anything happen. Stay prepared.”

“Yes sir, Agent 4.”

“Good. If the others ask, I'll be playing Ranked. Tell me once they figure out the date for the concert.”

“Sure thing, Agent 4.”

**One week later.**

I'm perched on one of the window washing carts, high above the Plaza, but still low enough for me to enjoy the concert. It's set to begin in about five minutes, and all the Inklings below were curiously investigating the to-be stage, wondering what it is.

“Check one two, check. Can you hear me Agent 4?”

“Loud and clear, Sheldon. Can you hear me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good, should something happen, we're going to have to be able to communicate quickly.”

“The show's about to begin, so you should enjoy it.”

“I will, Sheldon. I've noticed you've gotten better at staying concise, too.”

“Thank you Agent 4, I've been working on that. Now be quiet and watch the concert.”

Octavio started playing  his song , one I had never heard before. The lights on the outside of the stage turned on first, then the Octobot King started hovering. He slowly turned around, and was dancing to the music while still controlling it. The crowd was confused at first, but after about 10 seconds they all started dancing. Not long after, the song had finished, and the lights for the stage turned on, along with a fog machine, and Pearl and Marina rose up.

“Everyone give it up for DJ Octavio!” Pearl yelled this, and the crowd erupted into applause.

“Now, onto the main event!” Marina called this shot. “DJ, if you please?”

At that, Octavio  began the song , and I recognized it immediately. All the Inklings did, too. Within only a few moments, everyone down there (including Octavio) was dancing. A lot of the Inklings were singing along, too. This segment of the concert soon came to an end as well, and the audience applauded.

“Thank you everyone, but this concert isn't even about us. We're here to simply introduce the topic of this concert.” Marina addressed the crowd while Pearl addressed the DJ.

“Yo, Octavio, bring up the guests!”

“You got it!”

He hit a button, and  music started while Callie and Marie rose up. Once they started singing, the crowd went beserk. Both Callie and Marie have a massive smile on their face, and even Octavio seemed happy. The crowd only died down once the song ended.

“Thank you everyone! In case you didn't hear, the Squid Sisters are back!” Once Marie said this, the crowd cheered.

“We're glad to be back, but before this concert ends, we have one more song to sing.” Callie is pretty good at hyping up songs. “Hit it DJ!”

“With pleasure.” Octavio sounded much more menacing in this. He hit a button, and his window shades fell. Along with those falling, four identical pairs of shades fell on each of the performers. Both Squid Sisters’ outfits changed, and Callie’s I recognized, along with the moving pattern on each of the shades.

“Sheldon, I'm going down there. Octavio put Hypnoshades into the thing, and all four of them are wearing them.” I looked back down, and saw an even more terrifying sight. “All of them had their weapons materialize. Stop anyone from super jumping, and get the citizens out of there!”

“All I can do is contain Octavio and the other Agents to the Plaza. Get down there and force the citizens out!”

“Got it. I'm coming guys!”

I could hear them while falling. “All right everyone, it's time for the final song. DJ, you know the drill.”

“Gyahaha, time to drop the sea bass!”

I landed, and immediately went into action. “Everyone, you need to leave, now! If you still want to watch, go on the edge of the Square, or go watch it on a TV. It doesn't matter, as long as you get out of here!”

I heard one voice out of the crowd. “Why should we listen to you?”

“Agent 4? Ugh, I'm tired of dealing with you. I'm gonna play my music, and you can just die. Marie, take care of him.” With that, the speakers  started blaring .

“Goodbye, Agent 4.” Marie lined up a charger shot at me, and I rolled out of the way just in time.

I picked out that same voice from before saying “Yeah, that reason works.  _ Run! _ ” In a matter of seconds, the Plaza was clear.

“All right Octavio, it's just me and you five now, bring it!”

“You slimy little hipster!  _ I'll make fried squid rings out of you! _ ” Marie was keeping the pressure on with her Charger, Callie was in charge of the bomb launchers, Marina kept raining ink down with her Splatling, and Pearl jumped down to fight me toe-to-toe with her Blaster, all while Octavio was launching punches towards me.

“Sheldon, do you have any Low-tide ink?”

“No, Marie never gave me any to replicate.”

“Carp. Is there anything you can do?” I asked this while dodging Splat Bombs, a Charger shot, Splatling fire, a Blaster shot, and a punch simultaneously.

“You have a distress signal, do you want me to activate it?”

“Yes, please for the love of the gods!”

“Got it! Activating now. Survive a bit longer, and hope that if something responds it's friend and not foe.”

“On it.” I went back to focusing on dodging, and just in time; some ink from a Charger shot from Marie splashed on me.

After what felt like hours of dodging, I finally got some good news.

“Agent 4, we've got three objects moving at super jump speeds toward the Square. They should be landing any minute now.”

“Thank… the gods….” I gasped for breath. Running for your life, even with the help of technology, really takes a lot out of you.

I heard three splashes of people landing, then an old voice through my headset.

“What in the blue blazes is going on here?!”

“Octavio… hypnotized… Callie… Marie… Pearl… Marina…. Help.” I was nearly out of breath, but I managed to keep dodging; I had to. I looked around, and saw the three: an old, male Inkling in a green, army jumpsuit; a female Inkling with a torn cape who looked about two years older than me; and a female Octoling who looks about the same age as me.

“Sure, we'll help.” This voice was a stern, female voice, belonging to the Inkling with the cape. “But first, who are you?”

“Agent… 4…. You?”

The young Inkling ran up to me first. “I'm Agent 3.”

Next was the Octoling, with a much more melodic voice than Agent 3. “I'm Agent 8.”

The old Inkling got to me last. “And I'm Cap’n Cuttlefish.”

“How about that, the three members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon that I haven't met yet showed up to help me.” Agents 3 and 8 were about to charge in. “Hold on a second you two. The four with weapons are Agents 1, 2, 6, and 7. Agent 5 is behind the scenes. So, don't splat them.”

“Well what do you want us to do?” Agent 3 sounded annoyed.

Pearl fired a blaster shot at us, and we scattered to dodge it. “I want you to stay alive, snatch the glasses off of them, and then break the glasses.”

“Agent 4, how do you expect us to get the glasses off of them if they're flying around up there?” Agent 8 pointed to Octavio’s Octobot King.

“Yeah, we can't get up there at all.” Cap’n is just watching the stage, focusing on Callie and Marie. He shook his head sadly. “What has he done to you?”

“Don't worry, I have a plan to get them in range of us.” I ran up to Octavio's stage, and shouted to the three on it. “Callie, Marie, Marina! Get down here and fight toe-to-toe you cowards!”

“Are you challenging us?” Callie got up from the bomb launchers.

“Why you little…” Marina started revving her Splatling.

“If we refuse, our honor will be damaged. Octavio, we're going down. Tidal Rush, now.” With that, Marie jumped down, and the other two followed. Octavio wasted no time in starting the song.

“Alright everyone, pick one, and remove and break the glasses. Once they're removed, bring the person by the Lobby, and help the others. And  _ no _ splatting.” I reminded the others of the objective.

“DJ changed the show, Squidbeak let's go!”

“Thanks for that Cap’n.” Agent 8 said this sarcastically, but the Cap’n took it genuinely.

I went for Pearl, since I can dodge the Blaster shots effectively. Cap’n went for Callie since his Bamboozler is most effective against a Roller, and 3 and 8 went for Marie and Marina respectively because of the shared races; guess they would rather not fight the other.

Pearl was rather easy to deal with. All I had to do was create a couple of ink paths, dodge, and swim, and I was able to remove the glasses and bring her to the Lobby tower.

“The glasses being removed leaves them in a daze. We still need to be careful; there's no telling what their mind will be like once they snap out of it.”

“Understood, over.”

“Got it.”

“Okay. 4, could you help me?”

“On my way 8.”

When I got there, 8 was just running, avoiding the fire. I know I have to help, but I'm sure how; Agent 8 can't dodge forever, but….

“Hey, Marina!” I fired a short burst of shots in front of her, and she turned towards me with her Splatling fully charged.

“Oh carp.” I immediately created a short ink path and swam down it. Once I reached the end of it, I dodge rolled away and created a new one. This went on for some time. “8, remove the glasses!”

She sprung into action as soon as I said that, realizing I was distracting Marina for her. Marina joined Pearl and Marie by the Lobby; apparently Agent 3 had taken care of her target while we were dealing with Marina.

I looked over and saw the other three struggling with Callie. “All three of you, get on the same side of Callie and kite her around; I'll come up behind her and remove the glasses.”

“Hey! I'm the Captain here, so I call the shots. Everyone, do what 4 just said.”

If the circumstances were different, I would have laughed there. Instead, I went right to the plan. It worked exceedingly well, and Callie had joined the other three.

“Now what?” Agent 3 seemed unimpressed at what we had done.

“We wait, I guess.” I don't know what to do at this point; this is a new way of dealing with hypnotism.

“Not to burst your bubble, but Octavio’s escapin’.”

I looked up, and the Captain is right; Octavio is flying off. “Sheldon, make sure he can't go anywhere, and set up a grind rail or two. I'm going up.”

“Sure thing Agent 4.”

“C’mon squiddos, remember who ya are…” The Captain was talking to his grandchildren, the Squid Sisters.

“4, what do you want us to do?” Agent 8 was looking at me with eyes full of concern and hope.

“I want the three of you to stay with them until they recover. If I'm still fighting Octavio when they do, you're welcome to join me.” I patted 8 on the shoulder, then turned around. “Sheldon, play the song.”

“Do you mean—”

“Yes, play it now.” I super jumped up to the grind rail.

“One Inkantation,  coming up .”

“Ugh…”

I looked down, and saw Callie and Marie’s ink flowing from their heads downward. As the glow moved down, it changed their outfits back to the show clothes. Once it reached the point of the song where they have to begin singing, they jumped up and sprung to life. They pulled Pearl and Marina up, and they also returned to normal. All four of them formed their weapons, and they all super jumped up to join me.

“It's over Octavio! It's eight to one; you're outnumbered.” I shouted to the Octarian in a hope to have him surrender.

“It's not over yet, child! I'm tired of you always interfering; this ends now!” The DJ threw a double spinning punch at me, and I just jumped over it.

“Octavio, I've seen your full playlist on this thing. I know how to avoid every attack you have.”

“That's where you're wrong, squiddo. You've seen the full playlist for the Octobot King II, and Agent 3 there has seen the full playlist for the first one. Neither of you have seen the full playlist for this.” He slammed his wasabi sticks onto the turntable, and his mech began morphing.

“What the shell is that?!” Agent 3 took the words right out of my mouth.

“This, is the Tentabot King!” The “Tentabot King” is the same thing as the Octobot King, but with ten arms instead of two, and a lot more launchers.

“Oh, we're in treble now.” Callie was the one to make the joke, but she's clearly scared; so are the Captain and Marie. I suppose I, Agents 3 and 8, Pearl, and Marina aren't afraid because we've experienced worse.

“When I'm done with you, you'll all be flat!” With that one liner, Octavio launched all ten of the arms, at least one coming to all of us, some spinning, some not. I inked mine and sent it back, but some sort of jet propulsion thing sent it back to me, spinning, and I only barely cleared it. Once that one returned, almost immediately it was sent to a different person, and a small barrage of Octorpedoes were sent to me from the launchers. This went on for a while, until it all ceased, and the top hatch opened and sent out the largest rocket I have ever seen.

“Everyone, ink it to send it back!” Apparently Octavio used this attack against Agent 3. We did as she said, but Octavio knocked it back, so we did it again, and again, until he was at his last arm, which he used to launch it up to a harmless altitude, even after exploding.

“Guys, I don't think we can take this much longer.” Agent 8 said this, and she was out of breath. “It's too much at once, and we only barely survived the first shuffle.”

“I hate to admit it, but 8’s right.” This time it was the Captain saying it. “I'm not as young as I used to be, and I sure as shell can't do this for much longer.”

All of a sudden, the  music changed .

“Sorry, Callie and Marie.” Now Marina was talking. “You're song may be powerful, but we don't need power right now.”

Pearl picked up where Marina left off. “Yeah, what we need right now is a morale boost!”

I looked around, and saw all of us benefit from the same surge of energy. They were right; that was all we needed.

“BOOYAH!”

“What the—” I looked around, and saw super jump markers on the grind rail. Then I looked down, and saw specks moving from the outskirts of the Square to the heart of it, gaining what looked like a variety of weapons in the process.

“It's the citizens! They're coming to our aid!” I looked around, trying to count how many of us there are. “All right Octavio, you're outnumbered seven hundred sixty to one, give up!”

“Never!” He hit shuffle again, but this time we were prepared.

“Everyone! Whatever he throws at you, ink it to launch it back or stop it! If it can't be inked, jump over it! BOOYAH!”

“BOOYAH!”

This fight went on for about twenty minutes like this; punches, rocket, Octorpedoes. I was quickly losing my patience.

“Marina, why won't this thing run out of power? I know he doesn’t have any Zapfish.”

“It appears as though it's powered by Octavio's pure willpower alone.”

“Dammit. Guess we have to take care of that. Sheldon, what do you have to get me in close?”

“Since I'm currently out of grind rails, all I have are platforms, but they only barely don't reach high enough.”

“Do you have any canned infinite specials?”

“I've got warehouses full of them, wh-  _ oh _ .”

“I've see we're on the same page now. Bring in the platforms, and give me the special.”

“You got it! Platforms reaching maximum height, now!” As he said that, I saw the platforms appear.

“Giving you the special… now!” My tentacles began glowing, right on cue.

“Thank you Sheldon. Now, I have business to attend to.” I switched channels to talk to all the others. “As you know by now, this Tentabot King is powered by Octavio's willpower alone. The only way to end this fight without casualties or major damage is to get Octavio to lower it, or to take over and lower it manually. Sheldon has given me a way to get in close, so I'll be doing that.”

“Tentacles aglow, Agent 4 let's go!” The Captain’s hyping is always appreciated.

“Stay fresh Agent 4!”

“Callie, you're making me  _ blush _ .”

“Enough of that. Agent 4, force his tide out!” Marie’s jokes are as violent as ever.

“Agent 4, if you pull this off, you'll earn my respect.” I think Agent 3’s warming up to me.

“Agent 4, I fought through unspeakably difficult trials to get here. Go defend Inkopolis!” I don't know what Agent 8 means by “trials,” but I'll ask her later.

“Agent 4, how much I love this city can't be put into words. Go get ‘im!” Pearl’s full of energy, as usual.

“This is it, Agent 4; you have to go face Octavio.  Fly squidkid, fly !”

I jumped off of the grind rail, towards the platforms. While falling, I activated the Inkjet, and started hovering exactly at Octavio's level. However, he was facing the other direction.

“Octavio!” He turned around, and his face contorted with anger. “You have ten seconds to lower your Tentabot King to the ground, deactivate, and exit it.” He stared at me unflinchingly.

“Ten… nine… eight… seven… six….” The arms stopped firing about, and I blasted the Octorpedoes coming towards me.

“Five… four… three….” The top hatch began to open, and I could see the rocket behind it.

“Two… one….” The rocket fired, and we volleyed it back and forth, until he finally launched it upward. I started my advance.

Octavio fired all ten arms at me in quick succession. Luckily, some were close enough to another so they were both launched back. More Octorpedoes were launched, and I got rid of those, too. I stared Octavio down, while relentlessly moving forward. I was slowly forcing Octavio into a corner, and we both knew it. He got reckless with his attacks, constantly bombarding me with punches or Octorpedoes. Eventually, I got right in front of him.

“Last chance, Octavio. Lower the Tentabot King, or else.” I pointed the cannon on the Inkjet directly at him.

“Do. Your. Worst.” I pulled the trigger, and it was blocked by a forcefield. Octavio started laughing. “Did you really think I would just stay out in the open?”

I glanced behind me, and noticed I made a trail from the edge of the platforms to Octavio, and I got an idea. I hopped off the Inkjet, and it began its detonation; of course, the forcefield blocked the explosion. I went into squid form, and swam to the edge of the platform. I then stood up, and stared down Octavio.

“Agent 4, what are you doing?” Marina’s voice popped into my headset. “You had a chance to take him down, and you abandoned it! You're put—”

I switched off my headset, removed my ink tank, dropped my Dualies, aimed, and super jumped… right towards Octavio's head. As I approached the forcefield, I saw it begin to materialize. It wasn't much longer after that when I collided with it.

And ended up on the other side.

“End of the line Octavio!” I got up and tackled him.

“What the—hey, get off of me!” I managed to latch onto one of his tentacles, and I was slamming my fist in his face. He shook the tentacle I was on to try and get me off, but I didn’t budge. He then tried to use his other tentacles to pull me off, and I started to move. To gain the upper hand, for even just a moment, I bit the tentacle I was holding on to with full force, sinking my teeth into the X-shaped scar.

“You little pest!” Octavio locked his wasabi sticks to the turntable, which I assume turned on the autopilot, since once he did the Tentabot King resumed its position in the center, along with its offensive playlist. “It’s just you and me now, Agent 4. Do you really want to face someone who’s been fighting since the Great Turf War?”

“Don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” I lunged at my anemone, hoping to knock him off his feet. I succeeded, but he used his other tentacles to cartwheel back upright. I punched, but he blocked it, along with every other attack I threw at him. When he went on the offensive, he used all of his available tentacles to punch me, and I had trouble blocking them all. We wrestled like this for a while, but then I made a mistake. I went to headbutt Octavio to disorient him, but he caught me by the neck, and began tightening his tentacle.

“Gyahaha! Not so tough now, are you Agent 4?” I reached up to try to pry his tentacle away from my neck, but to no avail. I started kicking, since that was about all I could do. I managed to reach up and turn my headphones back on.

“Agent 4? Come in, Agent 4!” I was greeted by the voice of Agent 8. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

I coughed out a few words. “I’m… here.”

I heard Agent 8 gasp, and Callie took over. “Oh my gods, Agent 4, are you okay?”

“Not… particularly. Kinda getting—urk, strangled here.”

“Oh gods, oh gods. Marie, what do we do?”

I could tell Marie was thinking; I could practically  hear the gears turning in her head.

Suddenly, there was a drum beat, followed by some more. It eventually turned into a song, and I recognized the melody. Marie started singing, followed by Callie, the Captain, Agent 3, Agent 8, Marina, Pearl, and everyone else. As they were singing, seemingly all on their own, my arms removed Octavio’s tentacle from around my neck, and threw him down onto the platform. By now the green ink had disappeared, and I jumped down to fight him. While in the process of falling, I could feel my tentacles glowing.

“Sheldon… did you *cough* give me a special?” my voice was incredibly hoarse.

“No, I didn’t; this one you earned on your own. However, it appears as though that special will last as long as you need it.”

I landed, and squared off against Octavio, preparing to fight hand-to-tentacle again. Even though I had been battered and bruised (we have no bones to be broken; otherwise all of them would be broken), I had enough energy to battle.

I put my arms up, and Octavio charged at me. He sweeping kicked me, and I fell to the ground. He barraged me with punches in the face, the gut, everywhere. By the time he stopped, I could barely get up. There were patches of dark purple on my skin, and red was streaming down my face from my nose. I have no choice now.

I used my special, and felt power flowing through my veins. Instantaneously, I turned into my squid form, but it began to grow, and I knew what this was immediately.

“Is that…” Marina was in awe of my new form.

“No way…” Pearl also saw surprised.

“I haven’t seen this in two years…” Agent 3 is also in awe, but more from the amount of time since she’s seen it.

“Octavio, behold:  the Kraken !” I swam towards Octavio, using the Kraken’s special way of attacking as I passed him. I turned around, and did the same thing. I kept doing this: charging toward him, attacking, and swimming past, until he finally decided to fight back. The next time I charged him, he caught me by the tip of my head, and threw me nearly off the platform. We stared each other down, and I slowly advanced. Octavio ran at me, and I stopped him by curling up one of my tentacle arms and punching him with it.

“Octavio, give up! You’re out of your machine, and we’re on an even playing field. It’s over!” I sawm to him, grabbed him with my left arm, and punched him repeatedly with my right. On the eighth punch, I let go of him, and sent him flying across the platform. I sped to him, and did the corkscrew attack. This sent him off the platform, and I followed him.

“Marina, since you seem to know the most about this technology, super jump into the Tentabot King, take it off autopilot, and bring it to the ground.”

“On it, Agent 4.” I heard the sound of someone super jumping behind me, and soon after all the attacks from the thing stopped.

“Sheldon, bring the grind rail back to the ground.”

“One step ahead of you.” I heard the sound of a new grind rail forming.

“The rest of you, send the citizens back to their homes.”

“We’ll make sure they all get home safely.” The Captain was the one to respond this time, and it appears he’s okay with me calling the shots now.

Octavio had already hit the ground, and was starting to stand up. While I was still falling, I angled myself right above the octopus, changed back from my Kraken form, and landed on his helmet, sending him back to the ground.

“Ugh, I yield.” About time, too. I was getting tired of fighting.

I stood there for what felt like years, until the others stood around Octavio with me.

Agent 3 spoke first. “So, what do we do now Agent 4?” Her voice had no hints of sarcasm.

“I want you and Cap’n Cuttlefish to put him back in the snowglobe. Don’t forget his wasabi sticks; at least give him those.”

“You got it. Agent 3, let’s go.” The Captain and Agent 3 lifted up Octavio, and sent him back through the grate.

“What about the rest of us?” I think Callie likes having something to do.

I could feel the adrenaline fading, and my body becoming weaker and weaker. “I need one of you to stand behind me.” I heard feet shuffling, and my legs gave out right when the shuffling ended. I looked up, and saw it was Agent 8 who caught me. “Now, could you guys take me to the hospital?” I changed into my squid form to make carrying me easier, and willed myself to stay in it. I could feel wind rushing by me, the bouncing indicating whoever’s holding me is running, and I could hear the five sets of feet hitting the pavement.

Then I blacked out.

I slowly opened my eyes, and saw I was lying in a hospital bed, with an IV bag poked into my left arm. Around the bed were the entirety of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, with the exception of Sheldon, who’s probably working at the moment.

“Guys! He’s awake!”

“Jeez Callie, keep it down a bit. I’m still not all here.” I chuckled a bit, then realized that the sun was out. “So, how long was I out for?”

Marie responded this time. “You were out for about thirty-six hours.” She then had a bit of a mischievous smirk. “Agent 8 was by your side for as much of that time as she could.”

I looked over to the Octoling, who was on my right, and she was looking at the floor, her cheeks tinted pink.

“Hey, not to ruin the moment,” Pearl said, interrupting the moment. “But Sheldon sent us and our boss footage of that concert, and they want us to report on it.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that!” Marina was sharing the news now. “They want us to not only show the clip, but also to bring you on for an interview!”

“I’m flattered, but clearly I’m in no shape for an interview.”

“Yeah…. Can we at least have your name?”

“Oh carp!” Marie facepalmed. “I can’t believe I forgot to ever ask you your name!”

“It’s fine Marie. You were focused on saving Callie and the Great Zapfish. Anyway, my name,” I addressed everyone in the room. “Is Krakatoa.”


	3. Salmohno Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agent 4 (Krakatoa) and Agent 8 (Korral) take up a shift at Grizzco., but things go wrong.

It had been a while since that concert I helped schedule, and I was feeling better. Cap’n Cuttlefish, Callie, Marie, and Agent 3 were catching up in Octo Canyon, and Pearl and Marina were doing their usual thing; this left me and Korral, both of us deciding to hang out in the Square. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I figured we’d talk and figure it out.

“Korral?” I suddenly remembered something that I’ve been meaning to ask her since that concert. “Do you remember that concert from a while back?”

She looked up. “You mean the one that still hasn’t gone out of the public eye?” She sounded almost smug, and her grin certainly conveyed that.

“You’ve been hanging out with Marie, haven’t you?” Korral shrugged. “Anyway, you said something to me before I used the Inkjet that intrigued me, and I’ve been wondering what it means.”

“Oh. Well okay then, what was it?”

“You said something like ‘I’ve been through unspeakably difficult trials to get here.’” When I said that, she tensed up, then relaxed a bit.

“Ah, that. Long story short, I had to go through eighty trials put together by C.Q. Cumber of the Deep Sea Metro to be able to get four ‘thangs’ as requested by a phone. That same phone took the four ‘thangs,’ which were pieces to a blender, and tricked me and Captain Cuttlefish into getting in, telling us it was a way back up here. We would have been made into the same goop as ten thousand seven previous test subjects if it wasn’t for Agent 3 breaking the blender after responding to the distress signal Marina activated. I then proceeded to escape the same way Agent 3 got in, having to go through an area with no weapon, gaining my Octoshot, and doing a bunch of stuff to get to the elevator. While on the elevator Agent 3, who was being controlled by some goop the phone put on her head and had captured the Captain, attacked me again. Once I defeated and rescued them, I finally made it to the surface and joined Pearl and Marina on their helicopter. Once we were all there, the thing I had escaped from began rising out of the sea. It was a human statue controlled by the phone, who was an AI built by a human to pass their knowledge to us, but it was disgusted by our evolution and decided to use that same goop to destroy us by firing it out of a tongue laser cannon thing. Marina came up with a plan, which was to plant her Hyperbombs onto the statue and send me down to detonate them to ink it so it would stop charging power. I only had three minutes, and I managed to do it. Even though it hadn’t fully charged, Tartar (the phone) decided to fire anyway. Pearl hopped down and combatted the laser with a full-power battle cry, which I believe was a Killer Wail, and managed to destroy the statue. Now, I’m here.” Once she finished, she drank from her drink and stared off in the distance, her eyes telling that she had gone into some sort of daze.

I was about to contest, then saw her eyes begin to water, and she whispered something I only barely heard: “Those poor Octolings… all they wanted was to get to the surface.” I saw a single tear fall down her face. “But they got tricked. They… they all died.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry Korral. I won’t bring it up again.” I looked around. “Hey, how about we do something around here, your choice. I won’t protest, no matter what you do.”

Korral sniffed. “O-okay.” She wiped the tear away, then scanned the Square. “What about that?” She pointed, and followed her finger to the alleyway, left of the Lobby.

“Salmon Run, huh? Have you done that before?”

“No, but I’ve noticed that it isn’t always available like Turf War is, so I figured it would be interesting.” She looked down and pressed her fingers together.

“Don’t worry about it Korral. I was just asking to see if you knew what you were doing.” I got up and started walking towards the business. “Let’s go get you trained for Grizzco.”

“Wait, what?”

“Don’t worry, things will make some sense once you get trained.”

We went into the building, and I was greeted by the usual line from the carving. “Right on time kid. I’ve got work for ya.” He somehow noticed Korral, who was standing behind me. “Who’s the newbie behind you? Actually, that’s not important. Hey, kid. How'd ya like to shape the future of Inkopolis? Welcome to Grizzco Industries. I'm Mr. Grizz. Here at Grizzco, we're tryin' to make the world a better place, see? And we need fresh young talent to do it. Yeah, it's just your run-of-the-mill, manual-labor type of work, but's for a good cause, and we pay well. So whaddaya say, kid? The next training boat is headin' out now. You ready to be part of somethin' bigger than yourself?”

I nudged Korral in front of me, encouraging her to accept the offer. She did, and was whisked away for training. The carving addressed me next. “So what about you? You gonna work or not?”

“I’m waiting for the person I just brought you for training.”

Mr. Grizz growled. “If you’re gonna wait here, then get out of the way of other work crews.”

I got out of the main path, and waited for Korral to return. It took a bit, but eventually she did return, with a determined look on her face.

“So, Korral, you ready to go?” As a response, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the boat. “Boy, you’re eager aren’t you?”

“I can earn money from this, and it seems fun.” She has no idea what she’s in for.

We got into our uniforms, and met up with two other people. We all got on the boat, and we sailed off to the Spawning Grounds. Once we got close enough, we all super jumped to the center, and we got our weapons. I got the Splat Roller, Korral got the Splat Charger, and the other two got the Splattershot Jr. and the Splat Dualies. It was neutral tide, and we had to get nine Golden Eggs.

“So, how does this work? Do we just wait for the Bosses to come to us?”

“Something like that. Korral, behind you.” She turned around, and splatted the Chums and Cohock approaching. “Korral, stay on the high ground, and take out any Steelheads you see.” I heard the horn indicating a Boss Salmonid had spawned, and quickly scanned the area. “Stinger at the docks!’

One of the two randoms responded. “What?”

I sighed, and used the default signal. “This way!”

We took down the Stinger, and deposited the eggs. After a bit, we got all the eggs for the wave, and the weapons were redistributed. I got the Splat Charger, Korral got the Splat Dualies, and the quota for this high tide wave is six Golden Eggs.

“Wait, why did the quota go down?” With how well she was doing, I forgot this was her first shift.

“Sometimes people leave in the middle, but we never know why. Same thing with every mode. At least the quota gets lowered for all the waves when people are missing.” I said all this in an angry tone, sharing my displeasure with people who do this. “All we can do is push on and try to complete the shift.”

“Oh. Okay then.” Korral prepared to fight, and asked for confirmation about what to do in high tide. “We stick together during high tide, right?”

“Yes. It makes it easier to revive as well as fight. Stay near the basket so we can deposit eggs as fast as possible. After the quota is met, focus on survival so we can move on.”

“Got it. Here we go….”

Immediately, a Drizzler spawned, so we had to take care of that quickly. After the Drizzler was a Steel Eel, followed by a Scrapper. We had a bit of difficulty defeating them, and got roughed up too. After we had managed to get three more Golden Eggs than required, we were greeted by a Flyfish, a Steelhead, and Maws; we only barely made it to the next wave.

We super jumped back to the center, hoping that this wave won’t be anything close to the last one. We were right, in the worst possible way.

I was given the Splat Dualies, and Korral was given the Splattershot Jr., so at least we were given something similar to our mains. It remained high tide, and our quota was increased to only seven Eggs. However, when I saw the sky go from orange to a purple so dark it was almost black, I knew we were in trouble. This feeling was heightened when I saw a mass of tiny, glowing bugs move in.

“Krakatoa, what’s happening?”

“ _The Salmon Rush._ ” I turned around, to see her swatting at the Glowflies. “Korral, get to the high ground there, by the basket!”

I pushed her up there, and she indignantly squeaked.

“Woah there, what are you doing?” Apparently her training hadn't prepared her for this event.

“I'm getting you up and away from danger. Now go!” I looked around; they haven't come yet.

“Danger? What danger? The only thing here are these annoying bugs.” Korral swiped at the bugs surrounding her again, and the horn sounded.

“Here they come. Korral, splat them, but stay safe!” I splatted the crazed Chums as they approached, not letting a single one get past. She finally understood the danger here, and covered for me when I had to refill my ink tank. We had managed to get five Golden Eggs, and I was in the middle of a group of Chum as I was carrying the sixth Egg to the basket. As soon as I deposited it, the Glowflies flew to surround me.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no.” I scrambled to get to the high ground, but all the Salmonids had already turned to face me. I surely would've been killed had Korral not used one of her Splashdowns.

“Korral, you saved my life.”

“Yeah, that was kind of the point of that.” She turned and locked onto an approaching Goldie. “Take care of yourself Krakatoa. I'm going to go get the final Egg, then we'll make our final hold here.”

I noticed that I still had one of my Inkjets left, and decided I'd use it to not only survive, but to give Korral some cover fire as well. It worked significantly better than I thought, and before it detonated, I grabbed an Egg so I would be sent back to the basket with it.

After what felt like hours, the wave finally dispersed, we got back to the boat, and we went back to the Square.

“Korral, next time we work a shift, we work it with some of the others.”

“Agreed.”


End file.
